2010 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. It began on 26 June with the round of 16 matches, and ended on 11 July with the final match of the tournament held at Soccer City, Johannesburg, in which Spain beat the Netherlands 1–0 after extra time to claim their first World Cup. The top two teams from each group (16 in total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third place match is included and played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals. In the knockout stage (including the final), if a match was level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time of two periods (15 minutes each) would be played. If the score was still level after extra time, the match would be decided by a penalty shootout. All times listed are South African Standard Time (UTC+02) Bracket Round of 16 Uruguay vs South Korea Uruguay vs the South Korea was the first match in the Round of 16. The match was held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth before a low crowd of 30,597. Uruguay won the match 2–1. Uruguay's two goals came from Luis Suárez, the second of which broke a 1–1 deadlock in the 80th minute. Suárez's first was scored when Diego Forlán made a low cross from the left that was not dealt with by the Korean defence, leaving Suárez to score at the back post. Uruguay subsequently adopted a defensive posture and Korea had more chances to score. Eventually, Lee Chung-Yong equalised in the 68th minute, scoring a headed goal following a free kick. Despite Korea then having chances to win the match, it was Suárez who scored Uruguay's winner in the 80th minute with a curling strike from the edge of the 18-yard box that went in off the inside of the post. Suarez's goal was regarded as one of the tournament's best. Korea missed more good chances in the final minutes of the game, giving Uruguay victory and passage to the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970, where they would face Ghana. After the match, the Uruguayan coach Óscar Tabárez attributed his team's successful run to the number of players with experience at top-level overseas clubs. Korean coach Huh Jung-Moo claimed his side "controlled" the match and that Uruguay's goals were "lucky". |score=2–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Suárez |goals2=Lee Chung-Yong |stadium=Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth |attendance=30,597 |referee=Wolfgang Stark (Germany) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- United States vs Ghana United States vs Ghana was played on 26 June 2010 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The match was watched by 19 million Americans, making it the most watched association football match in American television history. The match was won by Ghana in extra time, after Asamoah Gyan broke a 1–1 deadlock. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored the opening goal of the match for Ghana in the 5th minute. The goal followed an error by Ricardo Clark, who lost the ball to Ghana in midfield. Boateng took the ball to the edge of the penalty area, beating US goalkeeper Tim Howard with a low left foot shot. Landon Donovan equalised with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, awarded after Jonathan Mensah fouled Clint Dempsey. The US had chances to win the game thereafter, but they were unable to get past Ghana's goalkeeper Richard Kingson. The match thus went to extra time. In the third minute, Gyan latched onto a high long ball, chesting it down and holding off two defenders before scoring the winner. After the match, Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac hailed his side's achievement in becoming one of the "best eight teams in the world", but regretted the number of players that would miss the quarter-final against Uruguay because of injury or suspension. The president of the Soccer Federation, Sunil Gulati, lamented the team's failure to make the quarter-finals and thereby further raise the profile of the sport in the US. |score=1–2 |aet=yes |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Donovan |goals2=Boateng Gyan |stadium=Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg |attendance=34,976 |referee=Viktor Kassai (Hungary) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Germany vs England Germany and England played each other on 27 June 2010 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein. Germany took the lead in the 20th minute after English defenders Matthew Upson and John Terry were at fault in allowing Miroslav Klose to latch on to a long goal kick from Manuel Neuer and score. Lukas Podolski doubled Germany's lead 12 minutes later, although England pulled one goal back through Upson in the 37th minute, heading in a cross from Steven Gerrard. A controversial moment then occurred in the 39th minute: a shot by Frank Lampard was not awarded as a goal despite the ball bouncing off the crossbar and clearly crossing the line. Had the goal been awarded, England would have equalised at 2–2. Thomas Müller subsequently scored two goals in the second half, extending Germany's lead to 4–1. His first came at the end of a swift German counter-attack in the 67th minute, the goal being assisted by Bastian Schweinsteiger. His second came from an error by Gareth Barry and was set up by Mesut Özil.Germany won the match soundly, 4–1. Germany progressed to meet Argentina in the quarter-final. |score=4–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Klose Podolski Müller |goals2=Upson |stadium=Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein |attendance=40,510 |referee=Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Argentina vs Mexico Argentina and Mexico met on 27 June 2010 at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Argentina won the match 3–1 for a place in the quarter-finals against Germany. The match was overshadowed by a refereeing error that allowed Argentina's opening goal. Carlos Tévez headed the ball into the net from a Lionel Messi pass in the 25th minute, but replays showed there were no players between Tévez and the goal, rendering his goal clearly offside. Replays of the goal were shown in the stadium but the decision to award the goal was not overturned. Tévez said he knew that the goal was offside, but chose not to say anything. Argentina's second goal came from a defensive error from Ricardo Osorio as a poor pass out of defence was snatched by Gonzalo Higuaín to round the keeper and score. After half-time, Tévez scored his second goal of the match to give Argentina a three goal lead, with a long range shot that found the top corner of the Mexican goal. Javier Hernández scored for Mexico in the 71st minute but it turned out to be no more than a consolation goal, as Argentina held on to win 3–1. Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre resigned after the match, accepting responsibility for not meeting the team's target of the quarter-finals. Tévez conceded that he was aware his first goal was offside at the time, although Aguirre deflected the blame for his side's loss away from the refereeing. |score=3–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Tévez Higuaín |goals2=Hernández |stadium=Soccer City, Johannesburg |attendance=84,377 |referee=Roberto Rosetti (Italy) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Netherlands vs Slovakia The Netherlands and Slovakia played on 28 June 2010 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. The Netherlands won 2–1. The Netherlands' first goal was an excellent individual effort from Arjen Robben in the 18th minute, taking on the Slovakian defence with the ball before scoring from 25 yards. The Dutch had chances to extend their lead in the second half; Arjen Robben cut inside on his left foot just like he did when he scored the first goal, but this time the slovak goalkeeper Jan Mucha saved the shot going to his far post. The Slovaks also had 2 big opportunities to equalize but forced 2 great saves from Maarten Stekelenburg. The Dutch however in the 84th minute sealed their win, with Wesley Sneijder scoring off an assist from Dirk Kuyt into an unguarded net after Kuyt got the ball past the Slovak keeper. Róbert Vittek slotted a penalty kick late in stoppage time, but it was no more than a consolation goal for Slovakia. The penalty had been awarded for a trip on Vittek by the Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg. The Netherlands' win threatened to be overshadowed by Robin van Persie responding angrily to being substituted by coach Bert van Marwijk. Van Marwijk called a team meeting over the incident, and insisted later that there was no residual unrest in the squad. |score=2–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Robben Sneijder |goals2=Vittek |stadium=Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |attendance=61,962 |referee=Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Brazil vs Chile Brazil soundly defeated Chile 3–0 on 28 June 2010 at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg to progress to a quarter-final match against the Netherlands. Brazil's first goal came from a corner kick taken by Maicon in the 34th minute, with Juan heading the ball into the goal without being marked. Brazil had doubled its lead within five minutes after a free-flowing passing movement involving Robinho and Kaká that teed up Luís Fabiano to score after taking the ball around the Chilean goalkeeper. Robinho himself sealed victory for Brazil in the second half, scoring following a long run with the ball by Ramires. After the match, Chile's coach Marcelo Bielsa conceded that his team had been outplayed, arguing that in his position there was "little one can do" when up against a team of Brazil's quality. |score=3–0 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Juan Luís Fabiano Robinho |goals2= |stadium=Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg |attendance=54,096 |referee=Howard Webb (England) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Paraguay vs Japan Paraguay and Japan met at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 29 June 2010. The match was decided by a penalty shootout after the score was locked at 0–0 for 120 minutes. Paraguay won the shootout and progressed to its first ever World Cup quarter-final. The match was a generally unexciting affair, as Japan adopted a defensive posture while Paraguay itself maintained a solid defence. The first half produced the occasional chance on goal with Lucas Barrios having a shot saved shortly before a long distance shot from Daisuke Matsui hit the crossbar of Paraguay's goal. The second half was similar, with either side producing occasional chances to score rather than periods of dominance. The result of the deadlock was extra time, which continued goalless. A penalty shootout ensued, in which Yuichi Komano missed a spot kick for Japan. Paraguay scored all five of its penalties, clinching the win and passage to the quarter-finals. After the match, Japan's coach Takeshi Okada resigned and Shunsuke Nakamura retired from international football. |score=0–0 |aet=yes |report=Report |team2= |goals1= |goals2= |stadium=Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria |attendance=36,742 |referee=Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) |penalties1=Barreto Barrios Riveros Valdez Cardozo |penaltyscore=5–3 |penalties2= Endō Hasebe Komano Honda }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} ---- Spain vs Portugal Spain defeated Portugal 1–0 in the Iberian derby to progress to the quarter finals where they were to play Paraguay. The game took place on Tuesday 29 June 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. Spain dominated the game with a ball possession ratio of 62% and several opportunities, but had to endure a pair of missed chances by the Portuguese in the first half, including one by Hugo Almeida which nearly resulted in a goal. In the second half, the Portuguese attacking threat decreased, and the entry of Fernando Llorente for Fernando Torres on the field brought new energy to the Spanish team. The only goal of the match came on the 63rd minute: David Villa picked up a brilliant pass by Xavi, having his first shot saved, but then lifted the rebound into the roof of the net. Post match replays showed that the goal was scored from an offside position (0.22m according to ESPN axis). |score=1–0 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Villa |goals2= |stadium=Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |attendance=62,955 |referee=Héctor Baldassi (Argentina) }} |valign="top"| |style="vertical-align:top; width:50%;"| |} Quarter-finals Netherlands vs Brazil |score=2–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Sneijder |goals2=Robinho |stadium=Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth |attendance=40,186 |referee=Yuichi Nishimura (Japan) }} Uruguay vs Ghana |score=1–1 |aet=yes |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Forlán |goals2=Muntari |stadium=Soccer City, Johannesburg |attendance=84,017 |referee=Olegário Benquerença (Portugal) |penalties1=Forlán Victorino Scotti M. Pereira Abreu |penaltyscore=4–2 |penalties2= Gyan Appiah Mensah Adiyiah }} Argentina vs Germany |score=0–4 |report=Report |team2= |goals1= |goals2=Müller Klose Friedrich |stadium=Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |attendance=64,100 |referee=Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) }} Paraguay vs Spain |score=0–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1= |goals2=Villa |stadium=Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg |attendance=55,359 |referee=Carlos Batres (Guatemala) }} Semi-finals Uruguay vs Netherlands |score=2–3 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Forlán M. Pereira |goals2=Van Bronckhorst Sneijder Robben |stadium=Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town |attendance=62,479 |referee=Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) }} Germany vs Spain |score=0–1 |report=Report |team2= |goals1= |goals2=Puyol |stadium=Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |attendance=60,960 |referee=Viktor Kassai (Hungary) }} Third place play-off |score=2–3 |report=Report |team2= |goals1=Cavani Forlán |goals2=Müller Jansen Khedira |stadium=Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth |attendance=36,254 |referee=Benito Archundia (Mexico) }} Final |score=0–1 (a.e.t.) |report=Report |team2= |goals1= |goals2=Iniesta |stadium=Soccer City, Johannesburg |attendance=84,490 |referee=Howard Webb (England) }} External links *Official website *The official 2010 host country website Knockout stage